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19 Responses to Contact

So, Benji, I was just cruising the ol’ inter-web, and I randomly stumbled acrost your YouTube page. I noticed that about 10 months ago, you made the comment that you had “just bought a new webcam,” so you could “start posting videos again,” but there was only ONE video posted since then, and that was four months ago! What’s the deal?

Benji:
Bought your CD “solo banjo” in Mantorville last Saturday night. A delight to listen too. Do you have other Cd’s available? I noticed that you gave special thanks to Mark Anderson referencing a 1995 album. Where would I be able to get a copy?

Thanks for picking up my CD; glad to hear you enjoyed it! My 1995 recording, “For Brian”, has probably been out-of-print since 1997 or thereabouts. I do have a number of other projects in the works, however, some of which will be coming out in 2011. In the meantime, I’m also posting new instrumental tunes (available as free MP3 downloads) to my main web site ( http://BenjiFlaming.com/ ) every Tuesday.

top of the mornin to you!i’ll be thankin you wholeheartedly for my most prized cd from your randomly picked enterys.the new album look is top’s and is on daily display in me room.I can’t thank you enough and am overwhelmed at winning it as i have never won nothing in my 59 years on the planet.you are the best banjo picker this side of heaven.I’m i debt to ya !I’ll stay a fan all me days .See you soon,sincerly amazingkevin!

Really enjoy your playing. A lot! Id like to learn som Christmas songs but require tabs due to my (low) skill level. Have you put out any tabs? Come all Ye Faithful, for example. Thanks and keep up the good work.

Hi! you music is really nice and interesting. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen that model of Nechville before.
My real question is about what strings you use for the octave mandolin tuning of you uke. Is that a concert or a tenor? Do you have string recommendations for GDAE tuning on a tenor uke?

I’m glad my music has brought you some enjoyment! Unfortunately, I’m not sure what string gauges I currently have on my ukulele. When I originally bought it from Gary Bartig (who, as far as I know, originated the idea of octave mando tuning on the uke), he gave me a piece of paper with the gauges .025, .027W, .034W, and .044W written on it. When I had him restring it shortly before I recorded my Christmas CD, however, I noticed that he used slightly different gauges, although I don’t remember exactly what they were. Your best option would probably be to reach out to him for info.

I’m a banjo player around Chicago. I’m learning the banjo part to the Bluegrass Mass for a local church production of it. (M.C. was too expensive for them so they recruited local musicians). I have the music/tab and have been watching the Youtube version with Macalester Choir and you on banjo. I had a few questions: are you following the tab strictly or ad libbing sometimes? A few other questions unless you need to get paid for it.

Generally, in places where there’s tablature, I’m either playing those notes by themselves or incorporating them into rolls. There are a handful of significant errors in the tablature, however, as the publisher didn’t give me a chance to proofread their transcription before printing.

Some of these errors concern the 5th string, which must be spiked or capoed, rather than “tuned” as the tablature erroneously states. If you actually retune the string as directed, you’ll get the wrong notes from it. As I recall, the 5th string is capoed up 4 (to the 9th fret) for the first piece, then dropped 2 (to the 7th fret) for the next couple, and then left open (i.e. 5th fret) for the rest of the mass.

I no longer remember what the other errors were, unfortunately.

If you have additional questions, I can do my best to answer. It’s been several years since I’ve played the mass, however, so my memory is getting a bit hazy. You might want to reach out to David Robinson, who is still actively playing the piece with Monroe Crossing.

Thanks Benji. I have been spiking the 5th string on the first two parts already so that was not a problem. I’m still working on it and the hardest part is all the up-the-neck notes in the middle of the Kyrie. I haven’t done too much playing that high on the neck so it’s tough getting it to flow smoothly. I see a few parts labeled “band instrumental ad lib” and it looks like you just play normal rolls and the chords that are marked in those sections. I’m looking forward to this but it’s quite a challenge. I’m glad your work can be seen on Youtube.

hi there benji , how are you , wel I just have question about your adhesive , the adhesive on your It looks the same as the other web has ,so I just want to know if your is better then the other web cuz it has the same name over the adhesive , I hope you can understand me im not good at writing in English , thanks bye

I’m well, thanks! The name you see on the adhesives is “3M 300-LSE”. 3M makes many different products under that name, and the one we use is significantly thicker than the ones I’ve measured from competitors. You can find a bit more information on BowlerTech’s “Frequently Asked Questions” page. Thanks for writing.

Hi Benji, I have just been listing to your banjo solo Silent Night and may I say you play it beautifully. I am not and far from an expert with the banjo but I can play and prefere to play slower pieces. Could I purchase a tab from you for The way you play this tune. Please advise if you can, kind regards Richard.